When Adam and Eve were sent forth into the wilderness from the Garden of Eden, we know that the Lord made “coats of skins, and clothed them” (Moses 4:27). Alma refers to the clothing of the Lamanites in a similar manner: “and they (the Lamanites) were naked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins” (Alma 43:20). Perhaps an examination of some references to “a skin” or “skins” in the Book of Mormon will add to our insight:
1. Alma the Elder poses the following question, “And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you? … Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white?” (Alma 5:22, 24) When “garments” are “stained,” does it mean that the person is impure and unholy as opposed to pure and holy?
2. How do garments become white? We get the answer in Alma 13:11, “therefore they [high priests] were called after this holy order [the high priesthood], and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.” Thus, blood is associated with garments
3. Jacob says the following: “Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins” (Jacob 3:5). Could “skins” of “filthiness” be associated with “stained garments”?
4. Jacob continues, “O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their [the Lamanites’] skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.” (Jacob 3:8) Are the “skins” talked about here related to the “garments” mentioned in #1 (see Alma 5:22) in that both are associated with judgment at the “throne of God” or at the “bar of God
5. Mormon refers to garments in relationship to protection in battle: “Now the leaders of the Lamanites had supposed … to come upon them [the Nephites] as they had hitherto done; … and they had also prepared themselves with garments of skins, yea, very thick garments” (Alma 49:6). Were the Lamanites hoping to get added protection from garments? Were they copying Nephite principles of protection?
6. Mormon says this about the people who had associated themselves with the Gadianton Robbers: “And it came to pass that they did come up to battle; … and they were girded about after the manner of robbers; and they had a lamb-skin about their loins, and they were dyed in blood” … Here we have “robbers” who dress themselves in the “skin” of the “lamb” which is “dyed” or washed in “blood.” Is this a counterfeit for “garments which are washed clean in the blood of the Lamb”?
In summary, a skin and a garment have the same purpose, they illustrate (or illuminate) the character of a person. Wickedness is represented by skins (or garments) of blackness (or darkness). Garments (or skins) can be washed clean (or white) through the blood of the Lamb. Wicked people not only mock this idea, but fight against it.
I would like to finish by quoting from the words of Alma in hopes of instilling a deeper appreciation for the purpose of the “skin of blackness” which God saw fit to bestow:
“And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women. And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction. And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed. Therefore, whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the Lamanites was called under that head, and there was a mark set upon him” (Alma 3:7-10).
Thus the ability to recognize and avoid the curse of false teachings and impure character traits is a far greater blessing than to view the obvious darkness or lightness of a person’s skin color. [Alan C. Miner and Clate Mask, Personal Notes] [See also the commentary on “Adam fell” in 2 Nephi 2:25]
2 Nephi 5:21 A skin of blackness ([Illustration] Murals depicting white and dark people at Bonampak, Chiapas, Mexico. Murals of the walls of Temple of Warriors depicting white and dark people at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. Photographs [The Book of Mormon, 1962 Seminary Edition, pp. 408-409]
“Lord God Did Cause a Skin of Blackness”
However one defines “blackness” (2 Nephi 5:21), the question that is raised here is this: In our search for Book of Mormon lands, should we look for a location with a history of only “black” and “white” people who lived there during the years of the Book of Mormon?
Hugh Nibley explains that with the Arabs, to be white of countenance is to be blessed and to be black of countenance is to be cursed; there are parallel expressions in Hebrew and Egyptian… . Note that the dark skin is never mentioned alone [in the Book of Mormon] but always as attending a generally depraved way of life, which also is described as the direct result of the curse… . There is nowhere any mention of red skin, incidentally, but only of black (or dark) and white, the terms being used as the Arabs use them. [Hugh Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, F.A.R.M.S., pp. 73-74]
Note* Perhaps it might be profitable to review what the Book of Mormon has to say relative to “white” or “whiteness,” and “dark” or “blackness.”
1. In Nephi’s vision, an angel makes the following statement regarding the twelve ministers that would judge Nephi’s seed: “For because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood” (1 Nephi 12:10). It is hard to imagine how garments could literally be made white by washing them in red blood. Perhaps the angel is using the term white symbolically.
2. In Lehi’s dream, the “fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen” (1 Nephi 8:11). Are Lehi’s words about the “white” inside of an apple, or is the term white symbolic?
3. In Nephi’s dream, the angel says to him, “Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief. And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations” (1 Nephi 12:22-23). If we take into account Hebrew parallelism, then darkness parallels “loathsome, … filthy, … full of idleness and all manner of abominations.” Nothing is said about skin color. Could it be that the term dark is symbolic?
4. Before Nephi ever made his return trip to Jerusalem for the plates of brass, the Lord spoke to him saying, “inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord… . For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse … And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance” (1 Nephi 2:21-24). What was the promised “sore curse”? It was that Nephi’s rebellious brethren would be “cut off from the presence of the Lord.” By combining the curse with the terms discussed in #3 (1 Nephi 12:22-23), we find that being “cut off from the presence of the Lord” is associated with darkness and with being “filthy, full of idleness and all manner of abominations” (1 Nephi 12:22-23). Was this what made the Lamanites “loathsome” to the Nephites?
5. In 2 Nephi 5:21 the following phrase describes Lehi’s party before anyone rebelled against Nephi: “they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome.” In 2 Nephi 30:6 the following phrase refers to the future of the Lamanites in the last days: “not many generations shall pass and they (the Lamanites) shall become a pure and delightsome people.” Prior to the 1840 edition of the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 30:6 read ”white and delightsome.“ In 1840, under the editorial supervision of the prophet Joseph Smith, this verse was changed to ”pure and delightsome.“ Nevertheless, for some unknown reason, subsequent editions failed to include this change and reverted to the wording of previous editions. Not until the 1981 edition was this situation corrected. What is important here is the sense of Hebrew parallelism. Does ”white“ parallel ”pure“? Are all of these words--”white,“ ”pure,“ ”fair,“ ”delightsome"--parallels of one another? Could we substitute “pure” for “white” in 2 Nephi 5:21?
6. In Nephi’s vision, he sees the future mother of Christ, and says the following about her: “in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white” (1 Nephi 11:13). Was Nephi trying to say that Mary had a milky-white complexion? That she was pretty? Perhaps Nephi was trying to say that she was “pure.”
7. In Alma 13:11-12, Alma speaks on the character of faithful high priests: “Therefore, they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence.” Now let us compare this description with what is said in 2 Nephi 5:21 about the curse. Nephi says, “that they (the Lamanites) might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.” If “white” means “pure,” then does “black” mean “impure” or “full of sin”? And was it because the Lamanites were impure or full of sin (or “black”) that those who were pure and sanctified (“white”) would not find them enticing?
8. In Jacob 1:13-14, Jacob makes the following statement: “Now the people which were not Lamanites were Nephites; nevertheless, they were called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites. But I, Jacob, shall not hereafter distinguish them by these names, but I shall call them Lamanites that seek to destroy the people of Nephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I shall call Nephites, or the people of Nephi. In other words, according to Jacob, the Nephites could have had people among them who descended from every man in the original group. The reader should notice that this is after the curse of a ”skin of blackness“ spoken of in 2 Nephi 5:21. Thus, we might ask, ”how much did heredity have to do with the curse of a “skin of blackness”?
9. In 3 Nephi 2:15, Mormon is talking about the Lamanites who have come to live with the Nephites. He says the following: “And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites.” Only three verses previous to this statement, however, we find the following statement: “therefore, all the Lamanites who had become converted unto the Lord did unite with their brethren, the Nephites, and were compelled, for the safety of their lives and their women and their children, to take up arms against those Gadianton robbers.” Whether these Lamanites were newly converted or whether they belonged to the people of Ammon, who had been converted some years previously (Alma 23-28), hereditary factors could not be at the heart of their becoming “white” in such a short time.
10a. After the coming of Christ, Mormon records that “it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites… . And even fifty and nine years had passed away… . And now, behold, it came to pass that the people of Nephi … became an exceedingly fair and delightsome people” (4 Nephi 2, 6, 10). And it came to pass … an hundred years had passed away … And there were no envyings, nor strifes, … neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God (4 Nephi 1:14, 16, 17). The point that should be addressed here is the length of time required to lift the “curse.” Was the “curse” lifted when someone’s sins were washed away at baptism (or when they were converted), or were there other requirements? And regardless of exactly how long it took to lift the “curse,” we must ask again whether or not it had anything to do with genetic characteristics.
10b. The book of Daniel uses the term white: "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand (Daniel 12:10). Thus, to be purified is to be made white
10c. The Hebrew word for atonement, Kaphar, has a variety of meanings, each of which seem to focus on different aspects of atonement with God. Among these is “to wipe clean the face blackened by displeasure,” as the Arabs say, “whiten the face’” (Brown, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, 497).
11. In Alma chapter 3, Mormon speaks about a dissident Nephite group called the Amlicites: “And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they had marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; … Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them. And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also. And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed. And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever” (Alma 3: 4, 14-17).
In summary, according to the verses just cited, black is a symbolic term meaning impure, filthy and loathsome. Black (or darkness) is also symbolic of being cut off from the presence of the Lord (or from light). When one becomes converted to the Lord, through the atonement of Christ he becomes pure, white and delightsome. Impure people mark themselves to distinguish themselves from the righteous. [Alan C. Miner and Clate Mask, Personal Notes]
According to Hugh Nibley (Lehi in the Desert, F.A.R.M.S., pp. 73-74), we are told (Alma 3:13, 14, 18) that while the fallen people “set the mark upon themselves,” it was none the less God who was making them: “I will set a mark upon them” etc. So natural and human was the process that it suggested nothing miraculous to the ordinary observer.